Heartless
by 2BfrankIMAhotdog
Summary: They shouldn't have strayed so far from the path, shouldn't have lingered so long. But regrets never slew heartless- not while they were still locked in hearts, at least.


**Heartless**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any related materials.**

**Enjoy.  
**

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The claw come out of nowhere, flinging the towering gravestones like cardboard boxes. Halloween Town's graveyard is a stupid place to have a picnic; the basket is lost, the blanket torn to shreds, and three Keybearers ready to fight.

It clambers out of the earth, grinning like a pumpkin, it's body a mess of ebony steel and eldritch gears shrieking bloody murder across the graveyard, eyes like hellfire, claws like spears. Bursts of flame overflow from its mouth, illuminating that heartless insignia on its belly. They shouldn't have wandered so far from the path, shouldn't have lingered too long. But regrets never slayed heartless- not while they were still locked in hearts, at least.

Oblivion strikes the first blow, followed by the Way to Dawn. The abomination spins like a top, like a twister, gouging the earth. They block, but how could mere flesh stop such a machine? How could mere muscle stand against the darkness's hunger? The machine lunges towards a new target.

Towards _her. _

Oblivion strikes again, beating it back desperately. The other Bearer joins in, too, but it's too sturdy, too strong. Nourished on the hearts of monsters, it too is now a monster. It inhales, wisps of fog disappearing into the abyssal mouth.

There is a moment of deathly silence.

The silence breaks.

The fireball explodes from its maw, tossing gravestones about like autumn leaves. Oblivion is knocked away, out of his reach. Oathkeeper is summoned in its place, promising victory. Another fireball topples the monoliths for miles.

The fire fades, and with it, their resolve. The other boy is pale, unmoving.

_She _is fighting.

Her magic breaks upon its shell, her key cannot unlock the stolen hearts no matter how hard she strikes. Oathkeeper rises, but the blows are only empty promises, ringing like funeral bells. He strikes again and again, drawing its attention away from her, but he is worn. Too worn to fend off the fireball.

He is battered, smashed, crushed into the foul soil by the blast. The heat is barely warded off and rising is harder than ever. He could give himself up, sacrifice himself to save them.

But it's not him it wants.

It wants _her._

He stands up, Oathkeeper raised, and calls on his own power. The way to power is harder than he remembers; he has no one to help him find valor, and the only wisdom he has is his own, but they have no other chance.

_She_ has no other chance.

The light erupts around him. The heartless turns, attracted by the sudden brilliance. He attacks, Oathkeeper and Oblivion striking as one.

But when he swings, the keys come up short. But there are no keys, he realizes; only claws. Only darkness. Only the raw power of the heartless. Surprise turns to fear, and fear becomes understanding. He has no other choice.

There is no other choice.

It roars at him, spindly behemoth-claws flared. He hisses, giving in to the darkness's instinct. There is no battle against good and evil; there are only two predators.

He _attacks._

He is a force of nature: too much speed to deserve a body, too much instinct to deserve a mind, too much fury to be contained in one heart. Again and again he strikes, the air vibrating with each blow, the heartless's armor cracking. It reaches for him, faster than he could have reacted if he wasn't so strong. He would have blocked, would have taken the blow, but that was when he had been _Sora_.

He takes the arm instead, his claws wrenching metal from metal, a screeching giggle erupting from his throat. The heartless counters, reaches with its other claw, only to be pounded into the ground by its own limb. Mindlessly, it rises, deflecting another blow.

The limb sails into the distance, but he is already moving- leaping- _laughing_. The claw flails, but the punch lands, rocketing the gargantuan monster across the destroyed ground. He pursues in a blur, in a rush of instinct. The claw lashes again, like a hand sweeping through smoke. A sudden blow hammers it into the ground, twitching like a broken toy. With a spastic jerk, the arm flicks upwards, catapulting him towards the full moon, full like a Shadow's eye. He spins like a throwing knife, already seeking out the weakest point again.

It opens its mouth, spewing a blast of flame like a demonic firework. He throws his head back, his hands engulfed in shadows. The explosion shakes the city many miles away, cloaking Halloween Town's sky in suffocating smoke. He lands and- before it can react- flickers towards the heartless, wrenching its mouth open, stepping inside, shearing apart bolts and joints, shattering metal, snuffing out the flame, his incessant laughter bleeding into panting. It struggles, its remaining claw swiping desperately, but he's in too deep; he's already close enough to _take_ all those captured hearts...

It spasms and falls still, a massive glowing heart rising from the mechanical carcass like a fleeing angel. The body fades around him, only the most material of organs remaining; bolts, beams, gears, and those massive, massive jaws.

He rears back and laughs as the engine falls silent, a beast's victory cry above its prey; his purpose discarded, his friends forgotten. She watches from a nearby hill, tending the other boy's wounds. Her eyes are wide with wonder, with fear.

He has forgotten: she can see it already.

He has forgotten all about her, forgotten who he is.

He has forgotten what he was trying to protect.

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**This is my first "horror" fic, so tell me what you think. Is it a dead ringer, or DOA? You decide!**


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